Bienvenidos a Mexico!

We've successfully crossed the border into Mexico! They let us hoodlums in. It was actually very lax. We could have slipped by unnoticed without anyone even looking at our passports, but we played by the rules.
Since we are driving through, we are required to carry Mexican car insurance. We bought it right after crossing over the border and it cost $88 for 2 weeks. Just to give you an idea.
I waited in the car while Dinh ran to get the paperwork for the insurance. I was in a 3rd world country once again.... this is starting to feel like home to me.
I listened to jovial Mexican music blaring from the car parked next to us. It made me laugh and want to dance, but I thought that would cause too much of a scene :) I watched the locals passing by on the sidewalk, going about their daily life. Moms holding their children's hands tightly , a man with a cowboy hat on walking swiftly across the street. Nogales is kind of a shady town. I got some scary vibes from some of the people floating around. We got out as soon as we could.

crossing over the border

Rewind: On our first day, we drove from Orange County to Tucson, Arizona....

Somewhere in Arizona

The next day, we drove from Tucson to San Carlos, Mexico. I was really impressed by the condition of the roads in Mexico. I would go as far as saying they are as good as the roads in the US.
Stopping at a roadside stand for fish tacos along the way , I practiced my Spanish with the young waitress. She recommended going to the town of San Carlos. We were planning on staying in Hermosillo for the night, but instead we took her advice. We travel on the fly like that :)

San Carlos is a sleepy little beach resort town. It feels a bit like a ghost town. There are virtually no tourists here.
After scouting around for a short while, we found a decent hotel for the night. I think we are the only ones staying at our hotel. I'm serious.
I'm bewildered as to what is going on here. I'm not sure if it's because it's off-season, or it's just a dried up resort town that nobody pays attention to anymore.
After being cooped up in the car all day, we decided to stretch our legs by going for a little run on the beach. It was beautiful. The waves were enormous, thunderously crashing on the shore. We were gently sprayed with fine particles of water as the waves crashed, acting as our personal misting fan. The jagged mountains created a breathtaking backdrop against the grey gulf water.
The beach was desolate, minus one man and his mangy dog. I didn't bring my nice camera, but I'll go back tomorrow to get some good shots.
After the run, we stopped by the local supermarket and picked up a delicious tamale and a huge papaya for supper. It cost about $2 for the meal and I was reminded how much I love traveling in 3rd world countries.

Tomorrow we plan to drive to Los Mochis..... buenas noches!